


kaleidoscope

by honeyedgold



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Alternate Universe - Sailor Moon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 08:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17998097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeyedgold/pseuds/honeyedgold
Summary: In another world, our favorite skaters are superpowered Agents, defending the Earth against garden-variety Monsters of the Week... until a dangerous new force arrives, seeking the Red Rose. The most powerful guardian gem on this godforsaken planet. Will Nike - and his partner, Eros - be up to the challenge?





	kaleidoscope

**Author's Note:**

> I’d like to apologize for any distress incurred by this story. Yes, I know I need therapy. Yes, this is my therapy.
> 
> This fic is a Sailor Moon fic on the surface, but it adheres to - and deviates from as I see fit - to the manga, Crystal, and new Sera Myu musical canon [from La Reconquista to Le Mouvement Final] only. No 90s anime allowed here, sorry. 
> 
> Cowritten with my gremlin partner-in-crime, Claradwor. Tags will be updated as the story progresses.
> 
> Side stories (all still canon) available [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1185830)

****_Imagine a world where monsters lurk around every corner. Not the sort you would hear about on the news, no. Horrors beyond what Hollywood can give you. Things that fester in the darkness of this planet and feed on all that is good. Things that can devour you before you can so much as blink. And things that could do much, much worse than merely killing you._

_What if I tell you that you don’t really need to imagine? You are living in that world, this very moment. I thought you should know. It’s only fair play, isn’t it? But there’s no need to be frightened. Because every day, there are people heading out to the streets, fighting those monsters, to keep you all safe._

_I’m one of those._

_My name is Victor Nikiforov. I’m twenty-seven. I’m a student at a private university for international insufferable spoiled brats with more money than sense. In my free time, I’m also Nike. Champion of strength, speed, and victory. Multiple-time savior of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and right now? Tokyo._

_And this is the story of how I died._

_“Victor.”_  
  
“This is the story of how I died -”    
  
_“Victor Mikhailovich.”_  
  
“Just leave me here and sweep me up later -”  
  
“VITYA.” Something soft - a pillow? - smacked him in the face. “You need to go to class.”  
  
He groaned and burrowed back deep into the covers. “I don’t want to. I’ll freeze into an ice block out there and you’ll need to tow me home with a truck to thaw me out. Then we’ll get on the news and Yakov and Minako will yell at us for blowing our covers.”

“Very funny, Vitya. I thought you were Russian? Children of winter and all that?”

“The point is that I’m _bored out of my skull_ in class. I probably know more than the professors. I’m honestly just biding my time until one of them morphs so I can get rid of them and _be on my way._ Or if I find their nest.”

Yuuri crawled back into bed and kissed him, soft and sweet. “Victor, _go.”_

“Fine. I’ll be counting the number of times Čeliković says ‘realpolitik’ today. That’s how many glasses of sake I’ll get hammered on once I reach the nearest bar. I swear, it’s like the man owes von Rochau money for royalties on that term.”

“Hm. Watch what you drink, though. We probably don’t want a repeat of the time you tried to climb on the table and -”

Victor punched Yuuri playfully in the arm. “You’re one to talk, _Eros._ I’m shocked you were coherent enough to retain that memory.”

“I try,” demurred his fiancé. “ _Someone_ has to keep you in line, right? There’s only so many bars to get kicked out of. Or banned from for life.” Yuuri pulled his cover away. “Now go before _I_ kick you out.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I think -“

“ _Get. Out.”_

Grinning widely, Victor finally rolled out of bed and winked at Yuuri. “ _Aye.”_

 _So. Like I said. I’m an university student and not particularly enthusiastic about it, given that I’ve actually gone through this degree once already. At least this time I don’t have to pay off the loans by myself._  
_  
__I live with my boyfr-_ _I’m sorry._ Fiancé. The word still feels strange to me. His name is Katsuki Yuuri, and he’s the love of my life.

_I know, I know. That last sentence sounds better in my head. But it’s the truth. I still can’t believe I actually said yes._

_Officially, he tells people who asks that he’s a salaryman, hired straight out of college. Unofficially, though? We both work for the Agency. It’s been around since - since there were governments, I guess. Maybe even before that. They find people that are…_ special. _Seers, telepaths, empaths, telekinetics, prodigies, the works. Even kids who are just much stronger physically than they should be._

_That’s where Yuuri and I met. To hear everyone else tell it, it was a “love at first sight” thing on both sides. I had no idea he felt the same way. He was just so adorably shy! Every time I tried to flirt with him, he would just turn red and back away. But don’t worry! I didn’t pressure him at all! I think._

_Then came a_ very _memorable party. But I digress..._

_Usually, Agents go back to their hometown to patrol. Yuuri didn’t. There was barely any monster activity in Japan, and it was clustered in Tokyo anyway. Okukawa Minako was the local senior Agent (not that she had anyone else to be senior to) and she’s skilled enough to handle any threat that cropped up. (You should see her with two swords. Brr. Whoever says dual wielding was inefficient has never met Leda.) So Yuuri was sent to Detroit, where he worked with a few other Agents under Celestino Cialdini. I went back to St. Petersburg. We Skyped every day._

_Then the critters started crawling out of the woodwork from_ somewhere _. Yuuri was promptly recalled to Japan. Minako got kicked upstairs to be a Handler and run the show from headquarters. When even_ more _creepies showed up, Yuuri asked her to request that I get transferred here since Moscow could afford my being away. My Handler, Yakov Feltsman, has already found my replacement. I mean successor._

_Anyway! I’m doing my job, I get to live with my future husband, and I get to enjoy delicious food. A lot of it. Life can’t get better than that!_

Despite his grousing about having to take the degree again, Victor _liked_ the classes. Really. Sure, the majority of his classmates were too busy fiddling with their cell phones or watching videos on silent with their laptops. But the people that _did_ pay attention were good students, firing off intelligent queries and challenges. Even when said discussions resulted in the entire class being held back late.    
  
He was going to miss this so much when he went back to his day job.  
  
Mindful of his eventual leaving, he didn’t really engage with classmates nor participate in discussions. He just sat quietly and took notes, both for his personal benefit and to share with anyone who asked, in the interest of his cover. After this mission, he would vanish out of their lives. No paperwork trail would lead back to Victor Nikiforov having attended these halls, nor would memories of him exist.    
  
Part of the life. Nothing personal.   

After the day’s last lecture, he emerged from the classroom to darkened campus grounds. A quick look at his watch showed that it was 3 p.m., and his phone confirmed that it was still daytime. None of the streetlights were lit, which meant to any Neutral the world was functioning by the cold, weak winter sunlight.  
  
Just as he made that observation, it seemed someone flicked the switch to the sun back on. The sudden disappearance of darkness stung his eyes, and he backed into the shade of the eaves. By the time his vision had adjusted, another abnormality caught up with him. Tendrils of shimmering fog, only visible where they stood out against darker-colored objects, were emanating from behind the cafeteria.  
  
After checking to see if the coast was clear - he wasn’t all that bothered about Neutrals, but it would be a lot of explaining if a non-Active saw him, which he really didn’t have time for - Victor transformed in a flash of bright light. The bulky, warm clothing he was wearing were replaced by a long-sleeved but skin-tight tunic over dark leggings and shoes. The top piece was shimmering with silver and blue crystals that were set like scales, shining with the tiniest movement. Despite the lightness of his attire, he was no longer cold. His breath had stopped steaming in the air.

Nike was on the scene.

He broke off into a noiseless run in pursuit of the fog. The further he got, the thicker it became, until he had to stop because everything around had been completely whited out. He looked around warily - he’d learned the hard way during his training that certain magical fogs can make even an Agent’s honed senses completely useless, rendering them vulnerable to whatever that was attacking. This mist, though, resembled nothing he had ever encountered or read about. With that much of it around, he realized that the shimmering he had seen was tiny pinpricks of yellowish light, constantly shifting.  
  
Energy prickled under his skin. The fog then abruptly cleared as if it had been sucked away into some giant creature’s mouth.  
  
Wait. Forget _as if_. It _actually had._

 _Oh, damn._ His heart sank to his stomach as he looked up. And up. And up. Two small, beady eyes looked back balefully. (Unfortunately for him, the eyes are only _small_ in comparison with the rest of the body. It looked as if he could probably replace them with two of those screens in baseball stadiums with room to spare.)

He flipped open his communicator. “Hello? Anyone on the line? I need backup!” Despite what Yakov is always ranting about him, he’s still smart enough to know he would get crushed in two seconds flat if he tried to take on this thing alone. All the while, he maintained eye contact with said thing. It looked like a crocodile, but its eyes were front-facing instead of on either side of its head. Plus, it was standing on its hind legs, and last time he checked only Disney amphibians do so.

Minako’s voice came through at last, but scratchy and tinny. Odd. That’s never happened before. Maybe it was the mist? She was still pretty understandable, though. _“Nike? Did you find the nest? What happened?”_

“If by _nest_ you mean _extremely pissed off twenty-meter-tall crocodile-something_ , then YES.”

A sharp inhale, or at least something that sounded like one. _“Backup incoming.”_

That was precisely the moment the thing decided that Victor looked like a yummy snack and roared. He clapped his hands over his ears, wincing, as the sound rippled through the air. However, before he had time to fully recover - there was a dull ringing inside his head from the impact - he had to dodge and roll out of the way before he got hit in the face with a missile. The concrete took the full brunt of the projectile, bubbling as it dissolved.

Flinging his arm in a wide arc, he screamed, _“Arctic Blizzard!”_ Out of the cold air, legions of snowflakes materialized. They hurled themselves into the monster like a swarm of murderous bees, trying to find a spot they could stick to. But much to Victor’s dismay, the flakes all melted on the spot as they came into contact with the scales.

His brain whirled as he tried to strategize. If the thing wanted to eat him, why bother attacking him with acid first? If it dissolved even concrete, then he would be melted in a millisecond if he was hit. Nasty way to go, and he’s too tiny to be nutritious anyway. _It’s defending something then. I’m a threat. But to what?_

 _“Strike Inferno!”_ As if on cue, a massive blast of orange fire made its way right into the creature’s back, but it seemed none the worse for wear. Victor definitely _didn’t_ let out a squeak as he dodged another acid blast that missed his shoes by a few centimeters. What he did, though, was to chirp happily at his fiancé, “Hi, Eros! Guess I got my wish, huh?” He got an exasperated look in return. Yuuri definitely wasn’t a fan of anything that might distract him while working. For the time being, his partner was a silent shadow of black and red, leaping through the air as flames streamed from his palms to lick at the monster. It was to no avail. The scales were as heat-proof as they were freeze-proof.

 _Blunt force then. “Luminous Ice Beam!”_ He tried to picture as many lances of ice as his mind would allow, sending them crashing against the lizard. They all shattered upon impact.

Unfortunately for them, their target might not have been harmed, but it was even more pissed off than before. It roared and raised one giant foot; Yuuri dove out of the way barely in time to avoid being crushed. Victor had to retreat with a perfect backflip through the air, alighting upon a sturdy tree branch nearby.

 _I need to pry at least a scale off._ He vaguely remembered seeing that in a movie. _Something near its heart._ But as he looked around frantically for something that could serve as a crowbar, he found none.

Yuuri, it appeared, had a better idea. He was aiming straight for the lizard’s mouth whenever it tried to snap. Even from where he stood, Victor could see the black scorch marks inside the jaws, smell the acrid stench of burning flesh. He hoped whatever produced acid in there had been thoroughly cooked.

The air shivered. Their backup had arrived - three portals tore through the fabric of space-time, and one Agent jumped out of each. They were immediately set upon by a gaggle of baby monsters shrieking bloody murder.

 _So_ that’s _why it’s territorial._ Victor groaned audibly. He had hoped the most they’d have to do is to smash some eggs… now this.

“INCOMING!” A hatchling, almost the size of a human adult, missed Yuuri by a hair and crashed face first into concrete. The timely warning had been delivered by a blond-haired youth, who was casting bolts of lightning from his hand as he zipped about in a blur of white.

 _“Yura!”_ Victor beamed. “All the way from Moscow?”

“SHUT UP, GEEZER, HOW ABOUT YOU START BEING USEFUL FOR ONCE. Like raising Central, maybe?” Yuri Plisetsky, formally Latius, leveled the Pointer Finger of Doom at Victor. “And no names!” 

Victor rolled his eyes. “ _Da, da.”_ His comm was duly fetched from the hyperdimensional pocket he had shoved it in earlier. “Leda? Anything on the A-point of this?” It was short for _Achilles’ point._ They had yet to figure out why it was there, but each monster had a weak spot that, once damaged enough, kills the thing. Before the age of computers, Agents had a considerably harder time finding the point. It was a rare Handler who could help, for they would have to be clairvoyant to see where monsters should be attacked. Now they just needed to focus on not getting killed or _too_ wounded before they get to the A-point.  
  
That is, in theory. There was no answer from the comm. The screen was full of static like an older television set. When Yuri pulled out his own to try, he yelped and dropped it because the thing had shocked him.  
  
“So we do this the old-fashioned way.” Chris’ grin had a little too much teeth for Victor’s liking. He hadn’t seen much of Christophe Giacometti - _Hyes -_ after graduation, but they’ve kept in touch. Mostly via Instagram. “Attack until we find the A-point.”  

Yuuri indicated the screeching hatchlings. “What about these - _Strike Inferno!”_  The ensuing blast of fire made the lizard that was trying to get at him scramble back several paces,  
  
“The Timber?” Phichit Chulanont - Thalia - suggested, weaving and dodging each attack as gracefully as if he was dancing. “Haven’t done that in a while, though.”

Victor nodded. “Good enough for me. Keep aiming for the scales’ edges, okay?”

Phichit didn't need to be told twice. _“Gold Aurora Ribbon!”_ The sash struck upwards, sending a few scales flying. The impact area was still too small for any of them to aim accurately. It was visible, though, and Chris leapt into the air, hacking at it with his sword to open up the various wounds incurred by the rest of the team.

 _“There!”_ A telltale burst of energy revealed their target: one patch filled with swirling, black aether, as wide across as Yuri was tall. _“Battler Sparks!”_ Bolts of electricity pounded the exposed area relentlessly. The ensuing screams of pain could have been heard by people all the way across the city, Yuri reckoned. Well, at least only to those who are able. Hopefully the “mysterious noise” stayed off the media, though with its decibel level he doubted it. Someone would have to field a lot of calls from panicked non-Actives swearing up and down they weren’t hallucinating later.

They dove out of the way, and barely in time. The monster gave one last ear-splitting howl before toppling over and melting - falling on its hatchlings, all of which had been strategically herded together - into a luminescent puddle of sludge.

Yuuri didn’t resume breathing until he had tossed a disposal ball into the mess. It fizzled loudly as it absorbed and neutralized the toxic waste - as pretty as it looked, the goo did not exactly smell like roses. Everyone else cleaned themselves up as best they could, though he suspected there would be a rather long queue for the decon showers later.

“Good work, all,” Victor gasped out, bent over with hands on his knees. “How about -”

What he was about to suggest would never be known, because all of their communicators started beeping urgently. (“Oh, _now_ they’re working?” muttered a disgruntled Yuri Plisetsky.) Instead of the usual post-mission message from their respective Handlers, a holograph popped up.

_Attention, agents Eros, Nike, Thalia, Latius, and Hyes. This is an official message from Headquarters. You are to remain in Tokyo until further notice to investigate the current threat level there. Leda will oversee your activities. Your Handlers have been apprised of the situation. We repeat, until further notice, do not leave Tokyo for any period of time without express permission from Leda or any Senior personnel should she be unavailable. Thank you for your cooperation._

The five of them looked at each other, bewildered. Yuri ended up voicing what they were collectively thinking, “What the hell is going on here?”

**Author's Note:**

> The title came from a line in the original theme song of Sailor Moon, Moonlight Densetsu [Moonlight Legend]. “Because I’m so innocent, what should I do? My heart is a kaleidoscope.” I also really love the symbolism of kaleidoscopes being something that’s greater than the sum of their parts - light shining through broken shards to create ephemeral visions that are new, beautiful, and unique. 
> 
> If you only know the dubbed version of the song, please give the Japanese one a listen. It’s absolutely, beautifully poetic. Video with English translation can be found [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oCH02eA_78)


End file.
